“Mummy, I want a pet.”

Zach had been asking for a dog, and I figured a good way to initiate him to the world of pet ownership is to start off with a fuss-free pet. As my neighbours’ children had fish that seemed pretty easy to care for, we decided that a fish it would be.

It was one of those rare sunny afternoons in December and I decided to seize the opportunity to bring both the boys, Zach (6) and Asher (3), out to Qian Hu Fish Farm.

Day at the (Fish) Farm

This was our third visit to the fish farm, but the first without Daddy. On the way there, Zach kept talking about catching the “fishes in the drain”.

When we arrived, the first thing that caught our eye was a banner advertising their prawning pond. As we had not seen the prawning pond before, we decided to take a closer look. It was interesting to know that apart from prawns, lobsters and fish could be caught in their ponds too.

Upon closer inspection of the signs at the ponds, I decided that it may not be suitable for the boys as it involved hooks and children under 8 years of age have to be accompanied by an adult. This activity would have to wait for another day when Daddy was around.

Longkang Fishing

Asher was captivated by the colourful tropical fish and koi in the various tanks but Zach was bent on catching fish and so he hurried us along.

We paid $6 at the counter and received a tank and a small net to catch the fish. Asher, being too young to handle the net, quickly got distracted by some nearby old-style kiddy rides and promptly settled down happily on one while Zach and I took turns trying to catch the fish.

Boy, are those little guys fast!

Other Activities

Asher pointed out some turtles in another pond. You can pay $1 for a pack of food to feed them with. They crawled over, as enthusiastically as a turtle possibly can, at the sight of us approaching them with the food.

There is also a Fish Spa on the premises where you can soak your feet in a tank filled with fish that will nip away any dead skin from your lower extremities.

Bringing Home Fish

By then, the sunny weather had given way to big drops of rain. We packed up and headed for shelter. While waiting for the rain to abate, we took time to browse around for our next “family member”.

Eventually, the boys chose a little electric blue fighting fish with a red tail. Zach was mighty pleased and named it Woly, as inspired by “Water Wally”, but spelt with a twist.

This capped off an eventful Little Day Out and we headed home with a packet pumped full of air and a small start toward learning about responsible pet ownership.